Kirk Moore, a 2016 graduate of Morgantown High School, doesn’t let anything hold him back from achieving his dreams.
The former wrestling standout is now a professional bodybuilder. He earned his International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation pro card on Dec. 3 by placing in the top two in the men’s physique category at the 2022 National Physique Committee national competition in Orlando, Fla.
“That was my goal,” Moore said. “That’s what I’ve been working toward this entire time. I competed in my first bodybuilding show six years ago when I was 18, now I’m 25.”
He is said to be one of only three professional bodybuilders born in the state of West Virginia. He is the only professional bodybuilder with a disability.
Moore has a congenital birth defect, proximal femoral focal deficiency.
“It pretty much means that my femur bone never really developed all the way,” he said. “My left leg is about eight inches shorter than my right leg.”
It never stopped him from being active at a young age. He played basketball and football when he lived in Fairmont as a child and was one of the hardest-working wrestlers at MHS under coach Tom Powers.
His friend, Ben, introduced him to the sport of bodybuilding in high school. Moore was a regular weightlifter but ramped up his workouts when he started becoming serious about entering a competition.
In 2017, he won the teen competition at a NPC regional in Pittsburgh and placed 16th overall.
“I just wasn’t big enough,” Moore said. “I was still pretty small and just wasn’t ready to be at that level yet. I took some time off after that.”
He considered wrestling at the Division III level in college but instead was awarded a full-ride academic scholarship to WVU where he earned a bachelor’s degree in sport and exercise psychology and a master’s in human resource management.
Upon graduation, he moved to Florida, began a career at Pepsico, got married and became even more serious about bodybuilding.
When training, he has to adjust his workouts to accommodate his shorter left leg. It’s something other bodybuilders, and most other people, just take for granted.
“When you think about doing cardio and things like that, it’s difficult because I’m walking very unbalanced going back and forth,” Moore said. “Or, I pedal a speed bike with just one leg. It definitely presents its challenges. When training my back with bent-over rows, I have to get a 30-pound dumbbell and lay it on its side so I can put my leg on it and make it even. I have to be able to put something up under my foot so I’m able to train and keep my back even.”
Muscle symmetry is an important component of bodybuilding and something judges look at with scrutiny during competitions.
“Everything needs to be equal on your body, so when I’m training I have to make sure that everything is equal, so I can train like everyone else,” Moore said. “I’ve been doing this for a while, so it’s all I know how to do. I can’t complain about it, I just have to work hard.”
The past 20-some weeks have been quite intense for Moore. Before the national competition in early December, he participated in the NPC All-South Klash on Nov. 8. He began his serious fasting and dieting regimen consisting of consuming just around 1,000 calories a day — focusing on protein and limited carbohydrates.
He placed first in his class at the Klash show to qualify for nationals but there was still work to be done.
“The judges wanted my conditioning to be a little better because they look at how lean you are,” Moore said. “I had to drop any percent of body fat I had left at that point.”
He lost 12 pounds in four weeks, while still training with weights and doing around an hour of cardio a day.
The dedication and discipline, focus and fervent work ethic all paid off. Moore is now a professional and he is receiving well-deserved attention from all over the world.
He signed a contract with a supplement company and can now get paid for placing at future competitions and can make money by offering fitness and feeding tips and advice. A fitness YouTuber in India has reached out to Moore for collaboration and he has heard from a student at Northumbria University in the United Kingdom, who wants to interview him for a dissertation on bodybuilding and how it affects body image and body dysmorphia.
More has also gained more than 20,000 followers on Instagram.
“Things have really been blowing up recently,” Moore said. “It’s been a really cool experience for me. I’m so grateful to be in this position.”
He thanks his wife, Amber, for her support, “even on the days where I was exhausted from working out or barely eating and getting a little cranky at times,” he said.
He talks to his parents, Kirk and Jotwyla, almost every day. He also has a sister, Alexxus.
“Ever since I did my first show at age 18, my family has encouraged me to keep pushing,” Moore said. “I couldn’t thank them enough.”
The plan now is to take some time off and rest, Moore said. He wants to gain about 10 more pounds of muscle and take part in another competition in 2023. He hopes to qualify for the annual Joe Weider’s Olympia Fitness and Performance Weekend, held each year in Las Vegas. It’s where the coveted title of Mr. Olympia is awarded.
“That’s the ultimate goal,” Moore said. “I’d love to be crowned Mr. Olympia one day.”
By MATTHEW PEASLEE
